


The Glow Fades to Black

by Icetigris



Category: Bastion
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-26
Updated: 2013-05-26
Packaged: 2017-12-13 01:03:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/818124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icetigris/pseuds/Icetigris





	The Glow Fades to Black

The Kid could hardly believe what he was seeing. Zulf was splayed out on the frozen ground, bleeding, his chest heaving. The Kid laid down his battering ram and knelt beside the fallen Ura.

“Zulf...”

His eyes fluttered open and a pained whisper escaped his lips. “Kid...” He sucked in a breath and opened his mouth to say more, but began to cough instead. Blood stained his lips.

“Take it easy, let’s get you home,” the Kid said as he slipped his arm behind Zulf’s shoulders.

Zulf smiled bitterly. “Y-you...should not have c-come,” he gasped. “Why risk...your life...for me...a traitor?”

The Kid’s expression hardened. “You did what you thought was right. Now I’m doing the same.” He noticed Zulf’s breathing was getting increasingly shallow. “Zulf, look at me.”

“It...wasn’t supposed...to...happen like this.” Zulf’s gaze was sightless, staring off into the distance. He muttered a name, but the Kid couldn’t hear it.

“Stay with me, Zulf,” the Kid pleaded quietly. Despite his actions, he couldn’t abandon him. Not here, not now. Despite everything, he didn’t deserve this.

“I-I’m...going...h-home...” he whispered as his eyes closed.

The Kid lifted Zulf onto his shoulder. He knew they didn’t have much time. “Just keep breathing, we’ll be home soon.” He kept uttering reassurances and pleas to Zulf, even as Ura arrows found their mark in his flesh. The pain was intense, but he focused on the feeling of Zulf’s chest rising and falling on his shoulder, the feeling of his fluttery pulse against the tips of his fingers, the heat of his body seeping through the fabric of his Ura garb.

The volleys of arrows slowed, but so did Zulf’s pulse. The Kid moved as quickly as he could, sheer willpower driving him, even as his own blood flowed in thick rivulets down his arms and soaked through his clothes. He couldn’t keep talking to Zulf anymore, it hurt almost too much to keep walking, but he couldn’t let it end like this.

As they approached the skyway, the Kid realized he couldn’t feel Zulf’s pulse anymore. His chest wasn’t moving anymore either.

They were out of time.

\-------------------

The Kid cried out in pain as he hit the ground, shielding Zulf from the impact with his own body. He laid him on his back in the grass beside him. 

“Zulf, we’re home.” Tears blurred his vision. “Wake up...” He choked back a sob. “Please...!”

He grasped Zulf’s hand. It was cool to the touch. The Kid buried his face in Zulf’s chest. “Y-you were...supposed...to make it...h-home,” he sobbed, shaking. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Rucks. “Kid, you did everything you could.”

Zia knelt next to the Kid, her eyes shining. She grasped the Kid’s and Zulf’s hands in hers. She opened her mouth, but couldn’t form any words. The Kid looked at her and then at Rucks.

“I’m sorry, Kid,” Rucks cast his eyes toward the clouds. “He’s gone home.”


End file.
